2 Down, 1 To Go

No...not "pounds", although we are working on that, too.

What this title refers to is how many kids Jarrod and I have told about the "Birds and the Bees".
Yep, yesterday, I had to have "the talk" with Anna Mary. I've put it off, and put it off, hoping it would just go away, but since she has recently had to begin wearing deodorant, and was begging for a bra, I couldn't ignore it any longer. No, she doesn't NEED a bra quite yet, but if it makes her feel like a woman, what the heck! I took a HUUUUUGE breath, and began my disertation.

Hey Moms, if you need a book to guide you with your daughter...Hats off to the American Girl book, The Care and Keeping of You! Anna told me what pages she wanted me to read to her (whew, that made it easier), and of course, she was goofy and giggly the whole time. When I got to the whole, "Where babies come from", which is NOT in the book, she was sufficiently repulsed. She wouldn't let me say "the word"...she made me SPELL it every time I had to use it!!! It was hilarious!
Why in the world am I writing about this, anyway? Well, because we ALL have to deal with it someday, and my parents never told me in plain English. Jarrod and I had decided waaay back that WE would be the ones to inform our kids, not the school system or their friends. However, when yesterday rolled around I was like a nervous school kid about to give my first speech in front of my class. At least Anna's silliness helped break the tension, and she is now as informed as a 9 yr. old should be. AND she wore her little sports bra to school for the first time!
Oh my gosh...and when she told Jacob she has a bra now, you should have seen the disgusted and confused look on his face!! Here we go! Hang on and enjoy the ride.

Next Up?

The "Bonnet Story" has come and gone. Now I must tell you about my newest venture...POTHOLDERS.
Ok, this was not my idea. My sweet little Anna Mary informed me that her class is doing an Economics study (BTW- shouldn't that not matter until High School?!?), and they each have to choose something to make AND SELL by June 13th. So, she came home from school a couple of weeks ago and told me that she's selling potholders; ie: "Mom, you have to make 15-20 potholders!!" Oooh, me hates school projects.
Ok, says I.
Well, you know perfectly well that Mom's put it off, even unknowingly, until the clock begins loudly ticking in your brain and you get that frantic flutter in your heart. I mean, it's not like we have nothing else to think about, or do, or go to. Well, this time I have all week to work on this, but Anna is NOT getting off scott-free- what does that mean, anyway??
Yesterday I cut, and cut, and cut, and cut. Mind you, this is with some crappy scissors because my fabric scissors have vanished since "The Bonnet Story"!! I decided to make a "sample" to see how easy or hard this would be. "Hmm, not too bad. Oops, I sewed one side of the potholder on backwards. Oh well, that one's for us!" Next sample... "Dang! I don't have enough trim for all 16 potholders!" A trip to WallyWorld, and I'm back in business.

So, when Anna Mary got home from school I set her in front of the sewing machine, showed her how to "quilt" the lines across all of these squares of fabric, and she away she went. I had to stop putting my hands all over the machine and fabric and just let her sew, for Pete's sake!! She did a great job!! However, after ONE was finished, she disappeared outside, and I didn't see her again until supper time. Alrighty, then, only 13 more to go. I think I'll duct tape her to the chair today and tell her that I'll take her for an ice cream cone if she finishes all of them by tomorrow night! That's not bribery, is it?

The Bonnet Story

I finished the "Little House" bonnet for Anna Mary's oral report today in record time! I have NEVER used a real pattern to sew before. My sewing consists of things made up in my mind, or the straight lines that make curtains. Anything intricate scares me.

However, in an effort to make Anna think I really can do anything, I bought the pattern and began reading the instructions in "sewing language" on Monday night. What does "notch" mean? Or "Grade the seam allowance"? Yikes. Or "interfacing"? I remember that word from when my Mom used to sew dresses for us girls. Oops! I didn't buy interfacing.

Hmmm, I need something stiff to make that brim on the bonnet stay in place. Cardboard? Nope, can't be washed. Cardstock? Nah, same thing. Ok, I'll just cut an extra piece of the fabric and starch the heck out of it until it's stiff enough. Voilà!! It worked!

Tuesday morning I spent about 3 hours sewing it all together. When I turned it around and looked at the finished product, I thought I heard angelic voices telling the world of my accomplishment!

When Anna walked in the door from school and I saw her face light up at the sight of my incredible handiwork, I knew all was well in my little part of the world.

20 years?!?!? No Way!!

Well, we are back from Jarrod's 20th HS Reunion, and it was a blast!! I worried about my weight for nothing, of course. The only thing all of us cared about was spending time together and laughing...a lot!!

Saturday night was the "adult dinner" at the Olive Tree Bistro. It was such a nice restaurant, and Jarrod, the "natural leader" emceed it. It was great to see his 20 or so classmates relive a lot of great memories and have the bond of Jesus Christ 20 years later! Jarrod and I kept saying to eachother, "Can you believe that we are all grown-ups now, all over the country?" Some have experienced the death of a spouse, fiance, or child; some have stayed in the same town for the past 20 years, others have moved numerous times, or have 5-6 kids...Amazing. I think Jarrod and I DROVE the furthest, although a couple of people flew the furthest.

Sunday afternoon was the family BBQ at a park close to J's hometown. We went from about 30-35 people Saturday night to 80 people on Sunday: yep, the "products" of the class of '88 made up the other 50 people. Everyone had a great time hanging out and, as expected, Jarrod and one of the teens got into a whipped cream fight. Good times!

The biggest part of our trip actually happened 2 hours into our drive TO Kansas. Car trouble. ugh. We had our car in the shop the whole week prior to this trip for a major tune-up, and got it out the night before we left. Then, 2 hours after leaving ABQ we noticed we had no A/C. So when we got to Amarillo we found a repair shop. After about an hour, bad news: the compressor was locked up and the belt is bad... $1300 bad. Well, we don't do credit cards anymore, and we DIDN"T have that kind of money to put into it (nor is the '97 Caravan even worth fixing for that price), so we sat in the van (in the HOT weather) and prayed. Then we rented a car so that we could make it to Kansas without breaking down on I-40 with three kids and a dog.

Yes, all 6 of us piled into an '08 Chevy Impala and drove out of Amarillo 3 hours later. We decided to forget our troubles for a couple of days and just enjoy the Reunion and our friends and family. The kids and Cookie did amazingly well.

We picked up our poor little van in Amarillo on Wednesday morning, in the rain, and began driving (windows down because we have no a/c now). However, there were many prayers being offered up on our behalf, and the Lord kept the weather just perfect- overcast and cool until we drove over the Sandia Mountains and entered ABQ!!!

Now comes the fun part: waiting on God to provide a new van for us. We've committed to not have a car payment, #1-car payments mean more debt, which we are really trying to eliminate, and #2-we couldn't afford a car payment even if we wanted to.

So, the moral of this blog?

Proverbs 3:5-7

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own

understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.

Quick Note

Well, I must say that I am proud of myself this morning. Instead of ANOTHER cup of coffee when I took the kids to school, I just TOOK THE KIDS TO SCHOOL. Then, when I got home, I debated on whether to fix myself some breakfast (aka: FAT STUFF), and instead made myself a delicious and filling banana smoothie. Must...lose...3...more...pounds...before...Friday!!
Jarrod's 20th reunion is this weekend, and although no one else will care WHAT I look like, it matters to me.
By the way, Jarrod gets home tonight from his latest trip for the State of NM. He was down in the SouthEast corner all weekend. I am ready to see his smiling face.

Good Reminders

My mom called this morning to tell me that she thought of me while listening to a sermon on TV. It was a "belated" Mother's Day message, and it reminded her of me because this lady was sending her last kid off to college, and was hit with the thought that, "Wow. I'll never have to wipe jelly off the wall again...I'll never have to pick up clothes for them off the floor again."
Yep, that's my life right now. I told her that I just wiped jelly off the counter yesterday. It was a great reminder to savor even "those" moments.
Last night my niece spent the night here with Anna. I let them have a pillow fight, make smoothies, etc. Of course, this was AFTER I was upstairs, because the stress of pillow fights is too much for my heart. I'm glad, now, that I let them do it. Those are the things childhood is made of.

Top 5 Reasons I am Excited to Stay Home

Wow. I am once again a stay-at-home Mom. Let me tell ya, I am sooooooooo not a working woman. Never have been. This morning I got up and thought, "Hmmm, what kind of projects can I tackle today, since I don't even have to THINK about going in to Dillard's tonight?" The funny thing is, I only worked nights/weekends, but, because I am soooooo not a working woman, my entire day would be stressful because I always had "work" on my mind, and how I would accomplish anything before I left.

TOP 5 REASONS THAT I AM EXCITED TO STAY HOME:

1. Dinner with my family-I've had very few meals with them in the past 6 months.
2. Healthy dinners with my family.-When Mom is gone, hot dogs and pizza reign Supreme.
3. Walks with Jarrod-it's something we've tried to do on my "off" nights.
4. Organizing the kids' backpacks, shoes, lunches, jackets, etc. BEFORE the next morning!
5. Relaxing on the patio after our walks.

Ok, there are so many more things I could list, but I know that everyone has things to do (including ME), so I will just say, to anyone who has been praying for us the past year, or even today, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. God has more than sustained us.
And, Jarrod is quite good at folding clothes and making dinner now!! Snaps for Jarrod! Thanks, Sweetie. :)